Improvement in annunciators



SAMUEL?. NICHOLS.

Improvement in Annunciators.

No. 127,185,-I Patentedwiy 28.11872.

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STATES SAIVIIIEIIB.V NICHOLS, OF TRAPPE, llIAItYLrUID.y

-IMPRoi/EMENTIN ANNUNCIATORS.

Specification forming'part of Letters Patent No. 127,185, dated May 28,1872.

nying drawing making a part of this specification, in which- Figure lrepresents a face view of two` dials, showing the nine digits on each,whereby all the numbers, from l to 99, inclusive, may be announced;also, the bell-crank for operating the same. Fig. 2 shows thearrangement and combination of mechanism for operating the hands on thedials, and ringing a bell to notify that an announcement has been made.

My invention relates to annunci'ators for hotels, &c., and it consistsin the simplified arrangement of the mechanism for turning the hand orhands on one, two, or more dial-plates on which are only the nine digitseach-the units or decimals on the left-hand dial, the tens on therightof it-so that the two numbers indicated by the hands broughttogether announce the number corresponding with the room at the sametime the signal-bell is rung. For numbers exceeding 99 it will requireanother dial-plate, with its corresponding mechanism, by the addition ofwhich nine hundred and ninety-nine rooms can be announced, or any numberfrom I inclusive.

To enable others to make and use my improved -annunciator, I willdescribe it more fully, referring to the drawing and to the lettersthereon.

In dwelling or boarding houses, where it is not necessary to provide fora call-bell from more than ten or fifteen rooms, a single dialplate,with the requisite numbers on it, will suffice; but for hotels, where alarger number, not to exceed one hundred, is required, I make two dials,A B, divided into ten spaces, hav- -ing the figures from 0 to9, the dialA representing units77 and B representing tens,7 as seen in Fig. 1. Onthe face of each is a single hand, which stands at rest at 0. The handsc a are connected with shafts extending back, on which areratchet-wheels O C and pins b b', into which are segments of cogs e e onvibrating levers D D', connected by chains or links f j" to bell-cranksE E', from which the wires g g proceed to communicate with the differentapartments. On the face of the bell-cranks E E and pivoted with them,are levers h h', which are provided with friction-springs i t' to bearon` the inner edge of the segment of the bellcrank, so that they startwith the first part of the pull of the bell-wire g g sufficiently t-oraise the latches F F from the ratchetwheels C C by theirconnecting-rods G G and bell-cranks El Hf, and connecting-links J J toallow the levers D D to rotate the pinions b b, and place the hands c con the dials against the number corresponding with the number of theroom from whence the pull proceeds, at the same time sounding thesignal-bell, the hands retaining their position on the dials untilanother pull is made from any one of the apartments, when they instantlyresume their position at 0, and then move forward to their correspondingnumbers. This movement is ef-V fected by the action of thefriction-springs t' i and levers h h. All of the movements arecontrolled to resume their position at rest by the action of springs 7ck.

The operation is as follows: Connected with the bell-pull of each roomis a bell-crank or lever, K, to which one or more of the wires I I areattached, at such a distance from the pivot o as to give the requiredmovement to the levers D Dl to turn and place the hands or pointers a aon the iigures. On each lever K the point of attaching the wires variesso as to make the combination of the gures on the dials give the numberof the room. For any number less than ten but one wire, I, attached tothe lever K, and each one varying in distance from the pivot o. Fornumbers-overten the two dials A and B are required, with twoconnecting-wires, I I, they being attached to the lever K in suchrelations as to embrace all the numbers from 10 to 99; and for numbersbeyond 99 another dial and set of mechanism will be required, lnade andconnected in precisely the same manner, by which arrangement andcombination all of the numbers, from l to 999, can be correctly read atthe office.

Claims.

1. In an annunciator, I claim the two or more dials, each containing thenine digits and the cipher, when combined with the mechanism asdescribed, to indicate all the numbers of the rooms required, all thehands of the said dials being adjusted properly by one movement of theoperating-lever.

2. I claim, as combined with the said dials, the bell-cranks, with thelevers h h and springs 'i i to retain them in position on the segments EE, all as herein described.

3. I cla-iin connecting the bell-pull Wires I I to a lever, K, providedfor each room, in such relation to the fulcruln of said lever that theirconnection with the operating internal mech anism will move the hands onthe dials to indicate the number corresponding with the room.

In testimony whereof I hereunto subscribe my name.

SAMUEL F. NICHOLS. Witnesses:

EDM. F. BROWN, F. H. PERRY.

